Re-Collections: Images beyond the Archive

Abstract

In visual terms the ongoing war in Syria has been one of the most well-documented that the world has ever witnessed. Accordingly Syria has for long been established as a topos for global reflection and concern. Despite an excess of visual documentation of this war, the actual processes through which some images have come to capture, embody and produce what Syria was, is, and is to become still need further thought and engagement. The central claim of this Introduction is that Syria offers an exemplary case to reflect on the power of images and on how processes of archiving enable a grip, not merely on the past but also on the present and the future. At the same time we offer a reflection on various facets of Syrian engagement with collections and re-collections of images, and how these speak to a concerted attempt to keep the narrative of what has taken place in Syria open for posterity.